Abomination
by Emme2589
Summary: WALL-E and EVE's grandson, Cobalt, is wanted by his father's barbaric native culture. He has slight chance of survival. LAST IN THE SERIES.
1. Chapter 1

Someone wasn't happy.

He sat in his chair in the dimly lit room, watching old events unfold. That was nearly five years ago. The old empress met her demise at the hands of a new robot, whose eyes shone red with his determination. The young girl was taken, but that wasn't his true concern.

The little robot, the orange one.

Her frame had the slightest of bulges, but why? There was no particular reason for her frame to curve out like that, if anything, it only got in the way.

"Commander?" He said.

"Yes, Sir?"

The emperor frowned as he gestured to the security camera footage, "Why is this smaller robot's frame convex? Doesn't that bother it?"

The commander gulped, knowing he wouldn't like the answer, "W-well...Sir..."

The silence hung around them as the emperor zoomed in on the little robot, Willow.

"She is...with child."

"With child!?" The emperor exclaimed in shock, "B-but she's a robot!"

"Y-yes...well..." The commander spoke carefully, not wanting to anger him even more, "It's an artificial reproduction software, capable of creating an entirely new robot from the data of two other robots."

"Well then?" The emperor urged, "Who is the father?"

"Oh Sir, you will not like the answer to that..."

"Just tell me!"

The commander was quiet, "Who else?" he let the picture zoom out again, "It's none other than V-Gr of Danglstan."

"WHAT!?" the emperor was enraged, "A member of _my_ court!? With an _Earthen!?_ This is an outrage!"

The commander was quick to leave, but the emperor was still seething. There was a mutant child on the loose that was half earthen half his own court, and it was sick and twisted.

It was an abomination.

"That child..." The emperor muttered, "...is a demon child..."

"I want them dead."

* * *

Cobalt's eyes drifted back and forth as Willow and V-GR practiced playing basketball. He was in no mood to play with them, and besides, he wasn't good at it anyway. He had no motivation to play the sport either. He was simply content in watching. His arms were crossed as he watched his parents, always impressed that his mom could do so well despite how short she was. Whatever she lacked in advantage, she made up for in sheer willpower.

"Hi, Cobalt."

He turned to smile at the approacher; Cassandra. She was 10 years old by now, and her black pants were accented by her bright and colorful shirt, which flared around her like a dress. She sat down next to him on the bench, swinging her legs cheerfully.

Cobalt used one hand to playfully ruffle her hair, "What's up little pale-moon?"

"Haha! Oh, you know. Just trying to forget about school." She replied, "What're you up to?"

"Hm..." he brought a hand to his chin, "That's a good question. I kinda thought about doing something cool with my mom and dad, but then I remembered this." He lifted a pencil and a large sketchpad he had beside him, "I did a bit of sketching instead."

"Oo! May I?"

He let her hold the big pad of paper in her little hands as she turned back each page. Cobalt was no professional, but he did draw often, and so the thick paper book was filled with sketches and doodles.

"Lovely as ever, I see." Cassandra handed the sketchpad back to its owner, "Are you ever going to turn those into paintings?"

He shrugged, "Who knows?"

Cobalt liked being with his family, who always liked to be active. He liked it too, but for some reason, he preferred to slow down and relax instead. All the crazy daredevil stunts Willow and V-GR liked to pull just didn't interest him. He'd much rather paint.

"Sometimes I think about finishing a piece with only pencil." Cobalt continued, "Maybe with soft charcoal. Do you think that would look nice?"

"I'm sure it would." She replied, "You could do it with me, I don't have much color on me anyway."

"What?" He replied, "Yes you do!"

Cassandra blinked, "Huh?"

"Cassy..." Cobalt put one hand on her cheek, "Your skin isn't just white, it's pale and it's contoured with soft pink." He flared his fingers outward so he could run them through her hair, "Your hair isn't just black, it has small bits of blue and gold. It has shine in it." He retracted his hand as he kept his little smile, "No. Plain charcoal isn't good enough for you. I'd need a full set of paints for that."

Cassandra was quiet.

"I was thinking maybe..." he trailed off as he thought.

"Hey, guys!" EVE had shown up, hand-in-hand with WALL-E, "What's up?"

"The sky." Cobalt replied, "Hi, Gramma."

EVE sat next to Cobalt on the bench, WALL-E resting on her other side, "I always loved being called mom...but being called grandma is even better!"

"Mom!" Willow called, "Stop saying corny stuff like that!"

"Sorry...I can't help myself..." EVE rubbed her eyes.

"I feel the same way, Eve..." WALL-E sniffed as he squeezed his wife's hand, "I feel the same..."

"Daaaaaaaaaad!" Willow groaned, "You guys are so embarrassing!"

"Willow, calm down." V-GR held the basketball under his arm, the other hand on his hip.

"YOUR MOM DOESN'T DO THIS!"

"Well, no..." he giggled, "But I wish she did!"

Willow dramatically sighed, but there was a big smile on her face. V-GR dropped the ball so he could pick her up and pretend to comfort her, "There there...we're pretty embarrassing too, remember?"

"Dad!" Cobalt retorted.

"Oh yeah." Willow's fake crying turned into giggling as she burrowed her face in V-GR's chest, "We are, huh?"

"You guys!" Cobalt rushed to them so he could shove his father.

"Whoa!" V-GR laughed, playfully shoving him back, "Don't you dare back sass me, young man!"

They kept up this mock argument until EVE pointed out how late it was getting. They all decided to call it a day and head home.


	2. Chapter 2

Cobalt stood outside his father's spacepod, which had been moved to just outside his grandparents' truck. Willow had gotten some kind of depression after her son was born, and so she insisted that she at least live next to her parents home. V-GR was quick to oblige, personally not caring either way, and he always wanted her to be happy.

He couldn't help but smile as his mother rested in the arms of his father, her favorite place to be. The whole family was gathered together on this sunny day, which had gotten quite large. It had started with the five EVE Probes; EVE, Aya, Rio, Leah, and Rose. Ruby had been adopted as their sister, and EVE married WALL-E, who had Cobalt's mother, Willow.

Aya had married NOS-4-A2, and they had two children together, Fletcher and Vivian. Amery was the mother of V-GR who Willow, and had Cobalt. Fletcher married a humanoid named Asteri, and they had their kids; Toby and Mel. Asteri's Mom was named May, and Asteri had five siblings. Leah was dating Chibi-Robo, and Rose was dating Telly Vision. Cobalt had counted them all one day, and he discovered that this family had 21 members in it! And that wasn't even counting M-O, (who was one of the only robots Cobalt knew who was shorter than his mother) or Darwin and his wife.

He had a large family, and that's how he liked it.

"Cobalt?"

"Hm?" he turned around to find Cassandra huddled in the shade of WALL-E's truck, "Are you okay?"

"I um..." she mumbled, "I forgot my sunscreen..."

Cobalt laughed, "Seriously? Again?"

She huffed, "Yeah, yeah! I get it! Can you just go grab it for me?"

Cobalt kept laughing as he retreated into his parent's spacepod, spotting the fps 70 on the inside table. Cassandra's skin tone was so light that she couldn't stay out in the sun for too long without her skin turning beet-red from the uv radiation. That's what happens when you have pale-moon skin, his father had told him.

"Here ya go." he handed the bottle to her, "Go nuts."

"Thanks." Cassandra opened the bottle and slathered the white creamy paste on her hands and face, "Whew." she slipped the bottle into her oversized pocket and stepped into the sunlight, "Thanks, Co."

He cast a sideways glance at her, "No prob, Cass."

"It's rather hot out here, isn't it?" She said as she stepped into the sunlight, "I'm not used to it. My moms rarely ever let me leave the house."

"I'm glad you could get out at all!" Cobalt softly elbowed her, "Or I wouldn't even exist right now!"

"Haha! True, very true." Cassandra clasped her hands together in front of her, "It's so lovely..."

Cobalt watched M-O scolding WALL-E while he laughed in response. It was amusing how those two spoke to each other. Cassandra stared at M-O for awhile, a light blush coloring her cheeks, but Cobalt didn't notice.

Cassandra huffed, "So." she said, "This is it, huh?"

He looked at her confused, "What do you mean?"

"You have a big family." she replied, "And to think, it all started with two robots who fell in love."

"Like Adam and Eve..." Cobalt finished.

Cassandra giggled as EVE planted a surprise kiss on WALL-E's optics, leaving him dazed, "Yeah. Wall-E and Eve."

"Wall-E and Eve..." Cobalt let his hovering mechanism carry him slightly downwards, "How far will the family expand, I wonder...?"

"TOBY!" Fletcher pushed through the crowd as he chased after his son, "You get back here with that! It's not yours!"

Toby flew up into the air with his tongue out, "Catch me if you can!"

"Come back!"

"Whoa." Cobalt watched the two as they flew over his head, "What is he holding?"

Cassandra listened carefully. She heard something sloshing, but only slightly, and a bit of crackling. She just caught that through the whooshing of air as Toby flew past her. She instantly knew what he had stolen; a battery.

Her eyes landed on him, "One moment."

She ran across the small field of grass, watching for when Toby swooped downwards. She jumped up and grabbed his ankle, surprising him into falling down. The battery flew from his hands.

"I got it!" Fletcher dove for the energy capsule.

Cassandra stood up, earning a dirty look from Toby as he slumped away.

"Whew. I got it." Fletcher put a hand on Cassandra's shoulder, "Thank you, Cassy. I completely forgot this was in my cloak."

"What is it?" she asked, "It sounds a little different from the regular batteries."

"It's just a relaxant." he replied, pocketing the bulky capsule, "It's only for adults. I'm glad you got it back before Toby could bite it."

"I see." Cassandra said.

"You shouldn't have been holding that!" Asteri scolded him, her eyes flashing yellow.

"Sheesh. Sorry." Fletcher replied, "That was my bad."

"That was cool!" Cobalt exclaimed, "How do you do that?"

Cassandra smiled, "My second mom taught me how to jump around like that. She said it would save my life one day."

"Has it yet?"

"Well...kind of." she replied, "But enough about that. Look who just arrived!"

"Whoo! Ted and Hannah!" Willow greeted cheerfully, "It's so good to see you again!"

Cobalt was about to join them when he noticed something odd. A shadow was falling over them. He looked up to see what it was, noticing his family doing the same.

"Whoa..." WALL-E huddled closer to EVE.

"What is that...?" Cassandra grabbed Cobalt's hand.

Only V-GR and Amery's faces reflected pure horror.

"Cobalt!" V-GR dashed to his son, "We have to go _now!"_

"What?"

"NOW!" he grabbed Cobalt and bolted to his spacepod, turning it on and hastily trying to get it into orbit.

"Dad! What's going on!?"

"I'm so stupid...I'm so stupid..." V-GR shook as he fumbled with the controls.

"Cobalt!" Cassandra called, flinching back when the engines came to life.

"What's going on!?" Willow exclaimed, "V-Gr!? Where are you going with my son!?"

V-GR didn't reply.

"Dad?"

The two of them quickly launched into the sky. Cobalt felt himself slam into the floor as V-GR steered them out of the atmosphere, blasting far enough away that civilization became a tiny green dot among the brown.

Cobalt felt the pressure in his head subside, slowly lifting off the floor as V-GR settled into an orbit. He hadn't been into space in a long time, so getting used to the awe of there being no gravity and the Earth spinning under him was interesting. It looked like a giant brown marble.

"Dad, what's going on?" Cobalt asked as V-GR finished with the controls, "What _was_ that thing?"

V-GR sighed, a hand on his forehead, "Sorry. I just really needed to get you out of there."

"Why? Was that thing coming for me?"

V-GR turned his head to look at his son, "Um..."

"Dad, is there something you're hiding from me? Tell me, please?"

"I'm not hiding anything..." he responded, "I've just never brought it up...listen, I need you to listen, okay?" he was trying to keep his voice even, but he was quickly starting to blubber nonsense, "I-I..."

"Dad." Cobalt took his father's shoulders, "You have to calm down. Breathe."

V-GR sucked in a breath of air, his ventilation system hitching violently, "Hhh...ah..."

"Start from the beginning, okay?" Cobalt soothed, "It's okay."

"Okay..." V-GR was finally able to calm down enough to speak, "Listen...I was never built on Earth..."

"I know. Mom told me." Cobalt said gently, "You told me too, remember? It's okay."

"Right...well, that thing came from my native planet." V-GR explained, "I can't believe I forgot about it..."

"What? What does that mean!?"

"You shouldn't _exist!"_ V-GR exclaimed in despair, "You're an abomination to them! Willow is from Earth, I'm from their planet! We made a child together! I can't believe I didn't think of that!" he began to cry, "I'm so sorry, Son...I'm such an idiot..."

"No you're not." Cobalt wrapped his arms around his father, "It's fine. We'll be okay."

 _"It's not fair..."_ V-GR cried, _"I love you so much...I can't let you go..."_

"Dad..." Cobalt was getting really worried. His father always carried himself well, using humor to lighten a tense situation, or smiling his way through an argument. Even when he got into an awful argument with Willow, he managed to get through it with a clever reminder of why she loved him so much.

Now though, he was a broken shell. He completely broke down and was sobbing. His eyes had turned red, when they were usually neutral white or happy blue. He didn't even feel like himself anymore.

Cobalt simulated a deep breath through his speaker, "Dad..."

V-GR finally pulled away to sniff and rub his screen, "I'm sorry...this must be jarring to you..."

"Um...it is..."

V-GR tried to smile, "It's okay. I just need to keep you off of Earth until that giant ship goes away."

"And...how long will that take?"

"Um..." V-GR glanced out the window. The ship that had cast the shadow looked like a sore thumb over the surface of the Earth, "I don't know."

Cobalt kept ahold of his father's hand as he watched everything below. He only hoped he was the only concern for these wretched aliens.


	3. Chapter 3

It took almost six hours for the ship to move on, destined for another planet. During that time, V-GR steered their orbit to keep out of the view of the ship. Cobalt could've sworn that V-GR would overheat as several times he had to stop to calm himself, trying to bring his processing speed to a healthier level. If only Cobalt had grabbed his mom before they lifted off, then the stress wouldn't be so great.

Finally, after all those agonizing hours of waiting and worrying, the ship was gone and V-GR was able to touch base again.

"V-Gr!" Willow jumped into his arms as soon as the door opened, "You're so hot! Did you forget to breathe again?"

V-GR tried taking bigger breaths. He had an odd system that brought air in for the sole purpose of cooling him down. Sure, he wasn't the only robot with a ventilation system, Nos and Fletcher and Asteri had those too, but V-GR's didn't actually use the air for anything, so it was possible for V-GR to get oxygen poisoning much faster than a typical "breathing" robot. That was an error on Gregor's part.

"Mom..." Cobalt said seriously, drawing her attention to him, "Has Dad done that before?"

Willow burrowed her face under V-GR's chin, "Not since you were born."

"Well, I'm flattered I guess." Cobalt replied, "But that was such an odd shift. I don't think I've ever seen Dad's eyes _that red_ before!"

"Hmmm..." Willow drew little circles into V-GR's back with her fingers to try and calm him down, "It's been awhile, hasn't it, Vee?"

"Yeah..." V-GR sucked in another breath of air, just trying to clear the slight blur in his vision, "It has been awhile..."

"It's okay, V-Gr...it's okay..."

Cobalt turned towards the rest of his family, at a loss for what to do.

EVE was the first to speak up, "Cobalt?"

"Y-yeah?"

"You don't understand what is happening, do you?"

"Well...no. I don't."

EVE took WALL-E's hand in her own, clasping them together before she continued, "We've got a lot you should catch up on..."

Cassandra frowned, twirling a lock of black hair in her fingers.

"Alright." Cobalt replied, "Explain then, and don't leave out a single detail!"

* * *

It took a long time for V-GR to get back to his normal functioning state. Apparently, whatever he was thinking about was so traumatic that he could scarcely breathe let alone speak, but EVE always seemed to be the most rational in harsh situations. The only one in the big family who was better at staying calm than EVE was Cobalt's great aunt Leah. It only made sense that EVE could tell the story for him.

She explained everything from beginning to end; It all started when Cassandra dropped a coin in V-GR's beggar can. The operation to rescue impoverished people from the other planet began, Willow became pregnant with Cobalt, Cassandra continued to be awesome, and etcetera. By the time she was finished, Cobalt was reeling with all the new information, his brain trying to sort it all out so he could make sense of it.

Finally, he opened his mouth, "...I see..."

EVE spoke once more, "And that's not even counting V-GR's father. He was part of this whole mess as well, but he's dead now, so that's another story for another time."

"You're wrong..."

V-GR had spoken up, his tone of voice strangely unfamiliar to his normal way of speaking.

"That's not the end of the story..." V-GR looked up, his screen glitching between red and white. He inhaled shakily, "A new ruler always rises to the throne. _Always._ There's never not someone on the throne." he looked back down at his hands, clasped in front of him on the tabletop, "Klaudia was the empress after her mother. After she died, Victoria rose to the throne since Cassandra was too young. I completely forgot the next successor before Cassandra..." he spoke the name like it burned his tongue, "Evannual..."

"Oh no..." Amery gasped.

"W-who's Evannual?" Willow asked, climbing onto the table to hold his hand, "Is he awful?"

"Oh my god, don't even get me started." V-GR seethed, "He is one of the most disgusting things I've ever had the misfortune of meeting face-to-face. He is a racist, bigoted, misogynistic, homophobic coward of a man. I hate him and I hate everything he stands for!"

Amery sat next to him so she could lay a comforting hand on his shoulder. He gave her a small smile.

"I've never heard of Evannual." EVE said softly, "How did you two meet?"

"It was before my case." he replied, "After I erased Willow's memories and went back home to receive my punishment. He was the one who recognized me not just as a traitor, but as transgender." V-GR's gave twisted into a scowl, "He kept calling me a female, and every second made me feel sick."

"Dad, you're transgender?" Cobalt asked, "I didn't know that..."

"Heh...it's not supposed to be important..." V-GR inhaled again, very violently, "I hate being called a woman! It makes me feel so awful! He was trying to tell me I'm a bad person for calling myself a man..."

Cobalt sighed, "Dad...he's wrong."

"I know." V-GR balled both his hands into fists, "But he kept hammering it into my brain until I didn't know what else I was supposed to believe...he wouldn't stop..."

"It's okay, V-Gr..." Willow nudged her screen against his, "It's okay..."

Cobalt frowned. He never knew how much awful stuff his father had been through.

"And now..." V-GR hiccuped as he continued to try and breathe, _"He's come back for our son..."_

* * *

Cobalt sat inside, staring out the window as it began to rain. He watched each drop as it slid down the rounded windowpane, pretending each was in a race to the bottom. He couldn't tell who won.

"Hey." Cassandra sat down next to him in her own plastic chair, "Are you okay?"

"Cassy, how old do you have to be to take the throne?"

"Huh? Oh...I-I believe the age is...twenty...I think...?"

"So we've got ten years?"

"What makes you think I want to be empress!?" Cassandra stuck out her bottom lip, "I'm so much happier here than I ever was back there!"

"Right, sorry..." Cobalt leaned against the window, "It's just that...each ruler seems to get worse...I know you would be better than them..."

"Hmmm..." Cassandra pressed her forehead against the glass to listen to the gentle sounds.

Cobalt smiled, "What do you hear?"

Cassandra let her eyes close, "It's a soft pattering sound. It sounds a little like the crackling of a fire, but the sounds are more frequent and a little less sharp."

This was a little game they liked to play. Cassandra would start to listen carefully and Cobalt would ask her to describe what she heard. It was a little game they played to relax with.

"Anything else?" he asked her, "Does it sound wet?"

"Hm. No." She replied wistfully, "Rain doesn't sound wet, it sounds dry. Odd, isn't it?"

"Yeah..." Cobalt twiddled his fingers together, "So...um...how does the royal bloodline...work?"

Cassy kept listening as she glanced at Cobalt, her forehead still up against the window. She let a soft sigh escape her lungs.

"Well..." she began, "My mom, Klaudia, her mom was the previous empress. She was part of the long line of rulers, the first being the one who harnessed the power of transhumanism, for lack of a better term. Rumor has it, she received her power from the gods, but I have a hard time believing that."

"Is Evannual part of the bloodline?"

"Heh. No." She scoffed, "He's the leader of the church, like a prophet, and traditionally, if the next heir to the throne is too young to rule, the prophet takes their place." She shook her head, "It's just dumb, because the ruler isn't always strictly religious."

"How do you feel about it?"

"How do you think!? I hate it! All they do is make people suffer for no reason!" She leaned forward to rest her arms on her knees, "I didn't even realize how bad it was at first...I don't even have a problem with the religion, it's just that stupid book that everyone carved into their heads and took its word as law. I wish it didn't have to be that way..."

Cobalt shook his head, thinking everything over again. He knew Cassandra and his dad weren't from Earth, and he knew the people there were oppressed, but he never imagined the old civilization was so horrible. He thought it was more like Earth but with no police force to control the real crime.

Turns out, it was a lot worse.

"Cassy?"

"Hm?"

"What do you hear now?"

"Um..." she breathed out as she listened, "Oh..."

"The rain is going away."


	4. Chapter 4

V-GR shot again and again, each moving target exploding on impact. He'd gotten some help from EVE's sister Ruby to upgrade his pistols so they could shoot more plasma bullets and it could shoot more without having to recharge. Each shot hit its mark, burning and scorching while V-GR worked to his limit, each target coming closer to hitting him as they swung by.

He was in a blank white training room, somewhere in Northern Atlanta, where he was practicing with two of his father's laser pistols. The room was huge, with one door and no windows. The door was sealed off while training was in progress, but there was a viewing room where people could watch the action.

As all the broken targets fell around him, V-GR panted, trying to bring in new air to cool him off. He couldn't rest though, he had to keep working. His aim wasn't good enough, his reflexes weren't fast enough, his eyes weren't trained enough, his hands weren't agile enough. If he was going to protect his family, he had to work hard.

"V-Gr?"

He flinched, still unable to get enough air in his synthetic lungs. It was Willow.

"You can't keep working yourself this hard. You're going to burn out."

He dropped his weapons, wiping his steaming forehead with one arm.

"Willow..." he finally found a way to breathe, "I can't take a break now. If I don't work myself enough, you and Cobalt will be compromised."

"V-Gr." Willow scolded, "You understand what'll happen if you work yourself too hard?"

He crossed his arms, keeping himself as calm as possible, "I know. It won't come to that. I would have to work myself way harder for that to happen."

Willow stared at him for a moment longer before giving up, "Fine, but you've been training all day. At least take a break. Please?"

V-GR stretched his arms out before letting them fall to his sides, "Alright. I'll be right there."

"You'd better be home in fifteen minutes." she replied as she left.

V-GR was left in the giant room with his own thoughts, keeping the carbon levels in his brain at a reasonable level. When his body had cooled down, he stored away the guns and began the long walk home. The air in the light of the setting sun was cool, and it felt nice against V-GR's heated metal. He had been working hard all day, but it wasn't enough. Once he healed, he'd need to get right back to work. He wasn't about to lose everything he had worked so hard to protect.

Willow, and Cobalt...Cassandra, Wall-E, Eve...

He couldn't lose them.

Not again.

* * *

Cobalt watched Cassandra mingle with some of her human friends. They were all about her age. He was stuck inside because V-GR was too nervous to let him leave. His mom was at work, so he was alone, stuck on the other side of the glass.

Cassandra said goodbye to them before heading inside, closing the door behind her, "Hey, Coby."

"Hey..." he responded, a little flatly.

She came to sit across from him, "Hey, it's okay. I'm here now, right?"

"Hm..." he smiled, "Yeah...why don't you want to be with your friends?"

"Oh, I just met them like a week ago." she took his hands in her own, "I'd much rather spend time with my favorite brother."

Cobalt glanced out the window as a cloud came out to block the sun, "Thanks, Cass."

"No prob, Co." she said, "Wanna see something cool?"

"Sure."

Cassandra dropped her schoolbag on the floor and rummaged through it until she found a little box. It was locked. She used her key to get it open.

"Where'd you get that?"

"My friend let me borrow it. He bet that I could never get it open." she lifted her skeleton key with a wink, "He doesn't know I have this!"

"What's inside?"

"Let's find out..." she opened the lid, finding a piece of paper inside. She unfolded it, "I can't read in English. What does it say?"

Cobalt took the paper, resisting the urge to laugh, "It says, 'you cheated'!"

"What!" she snatched it back, "It does not!"

"Yes it does!" he insisted, "Keep it. You can read it when you're older, I promise that's what it says!"

Cassandra puffed out her cheeks, "Whatever. I believe you. I was just-!"

The window suddenly shattered.

"AHHH!"

"Cassandra!" Cobalt blinked against a sudden harsh light. It blinded him before he realized he was being lifted off the ground.

"COBALT!" V-GR appeared and grabbed Cobalt's arms, desperately trying to pull him back down.

"Dad! What's going on!?" Cobalt screamed.

"IT'S OKAY! I WON'T LET YOU GO!" V-GR began to shake as he clung to his son, sobbing uncontrollably, "I WON'T LET GO!"

"V-Gr!?" Willow cried, "Cobalt! NO!"

"I'm scared!" Cobalt clung to his father with an iron-grip, "Don't let me go!"

V-GR began to be dragged along with the beam of light that was abducting his child, not letting him go for anything, "Don't worry! I'm not letting you go alone!"

Both robots refused to let go as both of them ascended, being sucked into the giant spaceship above the Earth.

* * *

Cobalt felt his false breathing as he was lifted up and down in subtle motions. It was so dark around him that his eyes made a light ivory-colored glow on the walls. His head gently rose up and fell down. His ear was to V-GR's chest.

"Dad?" Cobalt lifted his head to see that V-GR was offline. His screen was blank, "Dad?"

"Ugh..." V-GR's eyes blinked into place.

"Dad, wake up." Cobalt shook him gently.

"Ow..." V-GR finally got his eyes to focus in the dark, glowing a bright white, "C-Cobalt?"

"Dad, where are we?"

V-GR blinked again before sitting up, holding his son with both arms. He stayed like that until he could calm down, "Okay, I think we're on the cargo bay."

"The what?"

"We're the cargo." he explained, "We'll have to find a way out."

"Where are we going?"

V-GR grimaced, "Probably my native planet. You haven't been there since before you were born."

Cobalt got a sinking feeling in his chest, "We're going back?"

"Yeah, but not to save people this time." V-GR stood up and turned on his telecommunicator, one arm still around his son, "Willow? Eve? Can you hear me?"

Cobalt looked around as his father tried to contact his ship. It was dark and crowded, with boxes stacked against every wall and every corner. The ship creaked and shifted often, sending shockwaves throughout the floor and the ceiling.

"Ugh. No signal." V-GR ended his comm, "I guess we're too far away."

Cobalt couldn't help but feel a foreboding feeling come over him, "Dad...?"

"It's okay. Hold my hand, okay?" he held Cobalt's fingers in his palm, "Don't let go."

"Oh believe me, I'm right here." Cobalt replied.

It had been so quiet that Cobalt couldn't make sense of anything, and so dark that only V-GR could find where the walls were. It was more than five minutes before something else came into view.


	5. Chapter 5

**"Why not just kill him now?"**

V-GR froze upon hearing the words, his eyes dimming instinctively.

 **"Because I need to show them."**

That was the voice of Evannual. V-GR felt rage build in his system as he squeezed Cobalt's hand slightly, partly just to make sure he was still there.

 **"Interstellar mutiny is forbidden! You know this! It's not possible for the default race and the human race to procreate, so why should interstellar robot reproduction be treated any different!? It's an abomination!"** Evannual seemed baffled at the question he'd been asked, **"If those buffoons were stupid enough to defy the law, then I need to prosecute him in front of the city! That way, there will be no question!"** his voice dropped dangerously, **"They need to know that my word will always be set in stone."**

V-GR waited until the voices died down before he dared to move again.

 _"Dad?"_ Cobalt breathed, not brave enough to speak above a whisper, _"What did they say?"_

Oh yeah. V-GR had never bothered to teach the language to his son. He didn't think he'd ever need it.

 _"All you need to know is that those men are severely misguided."_ V-GR replied, _"I'll have to get the language downloaded to your database so you can understand. Come on."_

Cobalt followed without question, though he wasn't sure where his father was taking him at such a brisk pace. They finally found a room with a real lightsource, and it was mostly empty with a couple computers. V-GR made sure the door was shut tight before turning back to Cobalt.

"Listen. We need to get out of here. We're probably almost there by now." V-GR brought up the language on his HUD, uploading the information to Cobalt wirelessly. He took it all in with wide eyes.

When the upload was done, V-GR blinked to clear the letters away, "You got it?"

"Uh..." Cobalt processed the rest of the upload, "Y-yeah, got it."

"Cool. Let's go then." V-GR pressed his ear to the door to listen.

Something caught Cobalt's attention as the rest of the foreign language settled in the creases of his code. As V-GR grabbed his hand and pulled him back into the cold black hallway, he remembered the sounds of the voices from before. They were angry, that was for sure, he already knew they hated him, and he remembered one sharp word stood out to him;

 ** _Abomination._**

He knew what that word was. Did they use that word to describe himself?

"Here." V-GR hit a side panel, "I think this is an exit."

Cobalt wasn't prepared for what he saw on the other side of that door.

It was indeed outside, but it looked like everyone was in the middle of a war. The few who were still alive were screaming and throwing things while armored soldiers sliced through them without any mercy.

V-GR froze, "Oh my..."

Cobalt was baffled, "You never told me it was this bad!"

V-GR grabbed his arm to sprint off, "That's because it's _never_ been _this_ bad!"

He ducked into a hiding spot, his servo pumping fast.

"Dad? What's going on!?"

"This is what happens when a prophet sits on the throne!" V-GR tugged Cobalt through the streets, trying to avoid all the flying weapons, "It hasn't happened for more than two hundred years!"

"This is terrible! We have to help them!"

"I wish we could! Believe me! But those soldiers are relentless! If we try to help anyone, then we will die with them!" he turned a corner and kept running, "We need to get to the house!"

V-GR found the right street and ran to the porch of the house, fumbling with the lock for a second. He got inside and pulled Cobalt in with him.

"Okay. We've got maybe four minutes before this house is seized and destroyed. I have no idea how they can find us, but I guarantee that-!"

"Hey, Dad?"

V-GR stopped, "Cobalt? What's wrong?"

"Is...is what they say true?" he asked, "Was I just...a mistake?"

"What!? No!" V-GR took his son's shoulders in his hands, "I've already told you! They have no idea what in the world they're talking about! Okay? Me and your mother didn't come from the same planet, but we're both robots!" he explained, "We both run on code, we're both made of metal. We may not be similar, but that doesn't mean that a mix of our code doesn't have the right to exist!"

"B-but Dad..." Cobalt trailed off.

"Listen to me. Everything, and I mean _everything_ the prophet says is wrong!" V-GR let one hand brush Cobalt's cheek, "I promise you that, one hundred percent. Now let's get out of here."

V-GR went back to packing supplies while Cobalt smiled. Right, what was he thinking?

 _What was he thinking..._

Willow, EVE, WALL-E, and Cassandra landed on Earth in V-GR's spacepod, all eyes out for the two missing boys. They had already guessed where they would be, so it wasn't hard to find them. V-GR carried a satchel over one shoulder, full of disposable chargers.

"Cobalt!"

"Cassandra!"

"V-Gr!"

"Willow!"

Everyone was happy to see the others safe, but their reunion was quick.

"Guys, we need to get back to Earth!" V-GR declared, "And I want Cobalt in a better hiding place!"

* * *

V-GR shot all the targets, even the ones that moved faster than a freight train. The explosions around him were often right next to his ear, and some of the debris would hit his screen and make him flinch violently.

He had to work hard, because his son was in danger. If he didn't work hard enough, he would lose everything.

He'd been at it for two hours.

"V-GR!"

V-GR blinked. All the targets had been destroyed and he was still, panting heavily.

"Are you okay!?" Willow rushed to his side, "Oh my gosh! You're so hot!"

V-GR tried to speak, but his lungs couldn't get enough air. He wiped his forehead as his vision blurred.

"V-Gr." Willow took his limp hand, "Come home, okay? Please?"

V-GR realized that if he attempted to move at all, he would simply collapse, so he gave a subtle nod in response.

"Okay..." Willow let his arm fall to his side, "I'll be in the front, okay? I'll give you two minutes."

Willow left him alone, the door closing behind her. Once he heard that lock click, he fell on his side, his eyes staring ahead, unfocused and full of static.

Everything was so quiet as his ears rang. Every tiny sound around him reverberated in his head like a gong, shaking until his head ached. He finally found the strength to sit up, leaning on his arms. Everything hurt, and his lungs were burning up. It felt like his insides were on fire.

Oh no.

He began to cough, the burning coming up through his lungs and into his throat. He tried to hold both hands over his mouth, but the burning kept coming up. The burning reached his mouth and coated his hands. Glowing red-hot liquid metal was spat out between his teeth. It burned his hands too.

V-GR's ventilation system was only meant to cool down his CPU, but it had one wicked-bad flaw; it picked up particles from the air and soaked them into his servo. That wasn't supposed to matter because he was built to be an astronaut, where his strong lungs didn't use air but instead acted as a literal vent. Since so much oxygen was in his servo, and his servo was so hot from him working too hard...

He was melting...from the inside out...

He barely had time to call for help before his head smacked into the ground, his eyes too tired to focus as the world turned black around him.


	6. Chapter 6

Cobalt huffed through his speaker, "Well..." he sighed, "This sucks..."

He was in a locked room with no windows. He thought he was somewhere in Axiom City, but he honestly had no idea. He barely had any light, too. All he had was his sketchpad, a few pencils, and a classic gameboy with an old game in it. He'd gotten bored with that pretty fast. There wasn't anything around him to sketch, and drawing Cassandra a hundred times was also getting old.

Why couldn't he just...like...fight? With his family?

"COBALT!"

"Huh!?" He slid down the wall where he was lounging, hitting his head on the concrete ground, "Ow! Cassy!?"

"Cobalt!" Cassandra threw open the door to the room, "You have to come quick! V-Gr is in the hospital!"

"What!?" Cobalt jumped up, rubbing his head as he ran out.

"Come on! He's this way!"

EVE put her hand on the machine that was keeping V-GR alive. His servo pump was working too hard still, even though his body had been put in a freezer to try and stop the melting of the metal. It was so bad that he had to be cut open and his circuit boards had to be removed, his inner casing having been flushed out and smoothed out. He barely had any brain activity at this moment.

"Dad!?"

EVE swung her head around, "Cobalt!?"

"Oh no!" Cobalt hurried into the room, "What happened to him!?"

"His servo caught on fire." Willow said solemnly, "I tried to tell him not to overwork himself! Now look what he's done!"

"M-Mom..." Cobalt took his father's hand. It was scorching.

"It's not fair!" Willow tried to stop herself from crying again, as she'd already done that.

"It's okay, Wil...hush..." EVE stroked her daughter's back.

Cobalt began to feel sick to his stomach. He knew why his father was working hard; it was for him. If he didn't exist, then his dad wouldn't be here right now, struggling to stay alive.

"Coby..." Willow said, "Come here..."

"Huh?" Cobalt blinked, clearing his vision. He lifted his mother in his arms, which he'd only done a few other times. He let himself lean against the bed as he cried.

Cobalt stared at V-GR, sound asleep, "Was this my fault...?"

"What?" Willow looked up into her son's eyes, "Cobalt, this was most definitely not your fault."

"B-but...he didn't do this to himself...until..."

"I'm gonna stop you right there." Willow cut him off, "He did this because he didn't feel he was strong enough to protect us. If anything, it was our fault for falling in love."

He blinked again, "But that wasn't your fault..."

"You didn't choose to be born, did you?" Willow pointed out, "And besides, he definitely didn't need to push himself this hard, he was already strong. This was his own fault."

He didn't push the subject after that, but he did feel a little bit better.

EVE sighed, "Cobalt, you need to get back to the hidden room. It's not safe for you out here."

"I don't really care about that right now..." Cobalt replied with angry tears, "I want to be here with my dad..."

"It's not like they stand a chance against you, Mom." Willow glanced at EVE, "Let him stay?"

"Ugh." EVE shook her head, "You will be the end of me one day, you know that?"

Willow giggled through her sad tears, "I know...I know..."

A gentle breeze came through the open window as Cobalt cradled his mother in his arms. V-GR's breathing stayed sharp and rhythmic in the silence of the hospital room, each breath sounding like it would be his last.

* * *

Cassandra watched the sky from the hospital roof, waiting for any signs of a galactic spaceship. She was worried, not just for Cobalt, but for her adoptive parents. The sun set as she thought about this, terrified that her past was catching up with her. She thought she was free, she had no idea they would come back.

She knew how to ward them off, but she didn't know how much time it could buy them. She spun her skeleton key absently in her hands, the anxiety getting to her as she shivered. She rubbed her hands together to try and warm them.

"Hey! Cass!"

"Huh?" she looked over the edge of the building, where Cobalt was hidden under the shadow cast by the rough stucco walls.

He frowned, "What are you doing out here?"

Cassandra brought both knees to her chest, "I'm making sure the ship isn't gonna take you before V-Gr wakes up. I want to help too."

Cobalt let the silence hang around them, the stars beginning to come into view, "Mom doesn't want you outside."

"I don't care." Cassandra pouted, "They can't hurt me anyway. I'm the last link in the royal family."

"Still. You shouldn't be on the roof. And besides, you need to sleep."

Cassandra let out a breath of air she'd been holding in her cheeks, "I can stay up."

Cobalt sighed, leaning back into the building.

It was a couple more tense moments before Cassandra spoke again, "How's your dad?"

Cobalt crossed his arms, "Still asleep. His fever has stabilized though, so that's good. Mom won't leave his side. I saw her trying to curl up in his arms, but one of the nurses forbade it, so she's just on the edge of the bed." he spoke with sad, maroon-colored eyes, "I can't be outside much longer. Come back inside? Please?"

"No." Cassandra replied stubbornly, "Not until V-Gr is better."

"You're gonna be out here all night!" Cobalt huffed in exasperation. He turned to rest his arm against the building, the roughness of the wall feeling gritty against his alloy. He shakily took a breath of air, "Listen...I understand that you just want to help, but I'm not going anywhere, and neither is Mom or Dad." he explained, "You can still help without being on the lookout."

She considered this. If she was outside, she could see the threat sooner, but it's not like it took her long to engage her weapon. She could do that on a whim if needed.

"Please?" Cobalt put his hands on his hips, his forehead clinking against the edge of the roof, "I don't want Mom to worry even more..."

He was still and silent after that, but it wasn't long before he heard whooshing past his ear.

"Well, are you coming in or not?"

Cobalt laughed, jumping after her, "Hey! Wait up!"


	7. Chapter 7

Cobalt watched his family sleep, unable to find the power within himself to drift off with them. V-GR's eyes weren't on his screen, but it was still so hot. How long would it take to cool his system down?

Cobalt gulped nervously, "Dad?" he mumbled, "Can you hear me?"

V-GR didn't stir, and neither did anyone else. Willow was there, and so was EVE and WALL-E and Cassandra.

"D-Dad..." Cobalt rested his elbows on the bed, "Dad, I'm so sorry...I never meant for this to happen...p-please forgive me..."

His vision flickered as he cried, feeling so burdened, and feeling so much like a burden. It was too much. If he had never been born at all this wouldn't have happened. He even knew that the only reason he wasn't aborted was because Willow took pity on him. She didn't want to kill someone who never even lived.

"Ugh..." Cobalt rubbed his eyes until they settled into their sad squashed shape, "Thank god no one is awake to hear me...I sound so pathetic..."

He sniffled as he took one of his father's hands. It wasn't quite as hot as before, but it was still pretty hot. It would likely be awhile before he woke up. At least all his data was intact, and his internal circuitry was fixed. He would be the same person after all of this was over.

He was alive.

"Oh god, Papa..." Cobalt whimpered, "Please wake up...I need you..."

He heard a buzzing sound out the window in the nearly-dead silence and realized what it was.

"Cassy! Wake-!"

He was seized and pulled away, the glass in the windowpane shattering violently. He could just make out his family waking up before he was swallowed in darkness.

V-GR stirred.

"Willow! Eve! Wall-E!" Cassandra kicked herself off the ground, her dense key expanding into a light sword, "Get up!"

EVE was the first to take action, followed by Willow and WALL-E.

"Cobalt!" EVE shot the outer casing of the ship, and it lost its grip on him for a split-second.

The sudden loudness pounded throughout the night, and tons of people were waking up to see what the heck was going on. Amery saw from a distance and realized what it was.

"Mom! Gramma! Grampa!" Cobalt flailed his arms through the air, trying to grab something he could use to break the connection. He managed to grab ahold of a tall lamppost, feeling the suction from the light of the ship.

V-GR's fever spiked.

"Cobalt!" Amery shouted from the ground, "Stay there! I'm coming!"

"Grandma..."

"Don't let go!" Willow wailed.

"I'm trying!" Cobalt felt his body stretch from the increasing force.

"Cobalt." Amery had climbed the pole, "We're going to let go at the same time, okay?"

He blinked, "H-how-!"

"Look out!"

He spun his head, watching debris fly from the hull of the ship, "Ack! Stop it!"

"Cobalt, listen!"

"Cobalt, no!"

 _"Cobalt!"_

EVE held WALL-E in her left arm as she shot at the debris, diluting them until they could no longer hurt anyone. Willow jumped down to the pavement below, and Cassandra followed close behind, slashing at things in the air with her key-sword.

"Grandma!" Cobalt slipped from the post and Amery grabbed his arm.

"It's okay! I'm coming with you!" Amery replied.

"Cobalt! Don't move!" EVE shouted.

"Oh my gosh, Cobalt!" Willow jumped up to the lamppost's light, "It's okay! You won't go this alone!"

"Mom!" Cobalt felt himself slipping again, "Ah!"

This kind of hectic chaos continued until a distant sound caught their attention.

A flatline beep.

"V-Gr!" Willow realized, "No!"

"Dad!?" Cobalt tried to see into the hospital room, but it was too far away to see clearly.

Cassandra stopped to look back, "No!"

EVE and WALL-E looked devastated too, "V-Gr!" EVE gasped.

"Oh no!" Amery didn't let go, but she did try to look behind her.

It was at that moment that the ship just decided to increase it's power to the abduction, because taking more prisoners wasn't bad for them. EVE grabbed Cobalt's free hand as she tried to fly against the force. Cassandra dug her sword into the ground to stay put. The lamppost bent from the strain. They were doomed.

"DAAAD!" Cobalt screamed, feeling the ship pull tighter and tighter.

 _"Stop!"_

Cobalt finally got a glimpse of the room across the street. V-GR had unhooked himself from the machine, which was still flatlining, and he was trying to climb out the window.

"Dad!" Cobalt gasped, "You're alive!?"

"V-Gr!" Willow exclaimed.

V-GR didn't speak as he ran/dragged his legs all the way across the block. He lifted his eyes, which glowed brighter than they'd ever been, his system loud from trying to keep him cool. Finally, the lamppost broke and everyone was hurtled into the ship.

V-GR opened his mouth, _**"THAT'S MY FAMILY!"**_ and then he threw himself into the ship. It took off immediately.

Cobalt hit his head inside, plunging him into steady darkness.


	8. Chapter 8

"Cobalt." he heard a voice as he was shaken, "Cobalt! Wake up!"

"Huh?" Cobalt blinked, shifting on the hard floor, "Ugh..."

"It's okay, you're okay." it was V-GR's voice, "You'll be just fine."

"Dad!" Cobalt threw his arms around him, "Oh my goodness! You're so hot!"

"I know..." V-GR hugged him back, "I shouldn't be here. I'm so happy to see you unhurt."

"V-Gr!" Willow scolded him, "Why would you do that!? You scared me to death! I thought you said you wouldn't do that again!"

"I'm sorry..." V-GR sat back on his knees, "I didn't mean to..."

Cobalt was at a loss for words, "D-Dad..."

V-GR frowned, "Son..." he sighed, trying to shift more power to his cooling system.

"V-Gr, you're going to push yourself too hard again!" Willow complained, "You need to calm down!"

"Calm down!?" V-GR seemed really angry, but he was too tired to show it, "This is not a situation to be calm in! Don't you get it!? This planet has so much prejudice and bias I can't even keep track of them all! It's illegal for robots to have children, and interspecies children are absolutely forbidden! Can you imagine how much we've stirred up over there by doing _both!?"_

"V-Gr."

"No, you listen here! My father was only a tiny piece of the puzzle!" V-GR continued, "Compared to everything else, my father was just a rock stuck in some human's shoe! We're talking _waaay_ bigger! Way worse! Way more awful! I grew up in this world for crying out loud! I know this! I was beat up on the street for being trans! I was thrown into trenches with no access to a hospital, no electricity or shelter or people who loved me! I'm not going to lose all that I have now because some lunatic hates me and my son! I will not allow it!"

"V-Gr!" Amery grabbed V-GR's shoulder, "Stop!"

He did.

"You're talking worst-case scenario." Amery said to him, "There's an old Earthen proverb that I like to live by; 'Hope for the best, but plan for the worst.' Treat this as taking precautions, don't dwell so much on how awful things could end up, because judging from what you've been through so far, you can get through this just as well."

"M-Mom..." V-GR breathed.

"I agree." Cassandra came to sit beside them, "Worst-case scenario, we wouldn't be here at all because you would be dead." she explained, "You would have frozen in the ice before I had the chance to give you my coat."

"At least then you'd all be happy..." V-GR mumbled bitterly.

"I wouldn't be." Amery pointed out, "I'd still be stuck with your father."

"And I would still be stuck with my Moms." Cassandra said, "And as much as I love them, I love all of you so much more. I'm happier with my new family than I ever was back there."

"You're not saying you'd rather not have met me?" Willow asked him.

"What? Willow..."

"Remember?" Willow stuck her fingers in between his, "We are captains of the sky. Aren't you happy with me?"

He closed his fingers around her hand. It felt freezing cold to him.

Her hand felt so perfect in his own.

"Willow..." V-GR exhaled slowly, "Wouldn't you be happier? If you had never met me?"

"No!" she insisted, "You make me so happy I could never even describe it to you! I was very happy before, yes, but I have no idea how I was able to live before I met you. And besides, if you died then Cobalt would never have been born."

V-GR didn't respond, though he wanted to. He knew it would just be thrown back at him. Everyone was just so insistent! Did they all really love him that much?

He smiled, his eyes shifting to blue for just a second as he let out a soft chuckle, "Oh my god...everyone..."

"Hey hey, no need to cry now." Willow pulled her hand from V-GR's grasp so she could curl up in his lap. He held her close to himself, marvelling at how cold she was compared to his own burning metal. Cobalt leaned against his side, and though Amery couldn't touch him due to the heat, she did stay close.

"We wouldn't be as much of a family if it weren't for you." EVE agreed.

"You shouldn't beat yourself up over these things." WALL-E added, "It's not fair to you, or to us."

"Thank you..." V-GR rested his cheek on Willow's head, _"Thank you..."_

They stayed like this until the ship was ready to dock, arriving back on the old planet that was engulfed in fear and bigotry.

* * *

Cobalt banged his head on the concrete wall. It had taken _seconds_ to secure everyone and lock them up in the basement of the courthouse, each cell holding a different victim. It also wasn't long before EVE stopped trying to shoot the bars of the cage and WALL-E stopped trying to laser them. They weren't made of metal, that was for sure.

However, it didn't take long before someone came in to retrieve them.

"Hm?" Cobalt hovered to the front of his cage to watch the group come inside from the outside world.

"Cobalt?"

Cobalt's eyes widened, "Rio! Leah! Rose! Aya! Oh my gosh, you're all here!"

His entire family and some friends were right outside. Ruby had broken all the locks for them, and they had the team of energy vampires sniff them out. V-GR's best friend from this planet - Keith - hurried to get the cells open.

"Are you hurt?" he asked.

"N-no, I'm fine." Cobalt replied, "Do you see my dad anywhere?"

"Your dad came with you?" Keith asked, baffled, "Wasn't he in a coma or some shiz?"

"He _was..."_ Cobalt blinked, "Anyway, how did you find us here?"

"That spaceship was hard to miss." he replied, "Your father had explained it all to us before the dipstick ended up in the hospital. I knew what it was, so I gathered everyone else up to help you."

The lock released and Cobalt hovered outside the cell, "That was nice of you."

Keith smiled, "Well, _someone_ ought to keep you out of trouble, huh?"

Cobalt playfully smacked him, "I'm not helpless!"

"V-Gr!" Willow had been freed from her confinement, so she rushed to V-GR's, "Are you alright!?"

V-GR was shivering, "It's so c-cold..."

"Dad." Cobalt hurried to his cell as Ruby quickly disengaged the lock. He helped his father stand, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine..." V-GR tried to balance on his shaking legs.

"Dude, you're sick." Keith said, "You shouldn't be out here."

"I couldn't..." V-GR coughed, "...abandon my son."

Cobalt frowned, "Come on. We should all get home."

 **"What is going on here!?"**

Everyone froze, turning to the gruff voice. It was a security guard.

Actually, it was hundreds of security guards.

"What!?" V-GR hissed, "They aren't supposed to be here for another twenty minutes!"

Everyone was quiet, just waiting for the other side to attack first.

One security guard lifted a giant weapon, **"ATTACK!"**

Chaos broke out all at once, but to Cobalt's dismay, the fight didn't last long. The guards shot darts at all the robots that put them to sleep, and they had energy inhibitors that drained the energy vampires enough to force shut-down. Soon, Cobalt was surrounded by blank screens and still, metal limbs. As V-GR fell, Cobalt distinctly felt his fever spike, so that his skin was scalding.

"Cobalt..." he murmured, "No, not my son..."

"Dad!" Cobalt held onto him, horrified that not even Ruby or Nos were strong enough to fight off the attackers, "No! No, Dad! Papa!" he ended up holding V-GR's head in his arms, "Please don't go! It's not fair! Stop!"

He felt all the eyes on him, and slowly, he lifted his head. Why had they not shot him?

One of the guards grabbed his arm, **"Stay still, or we'll throw your 'father' into the lava."**

He had no choice but to obey, watching in dismay as all his family members were taken by the other guards, treated as though they were mere ragdolls.


	9. Chapter 9

Cobalt was taken to an arena of sorts. The inside looked just like a roman colosseum, with thousands of aliens in the stands, but in the center stood a podium, and across, closer to the bleachers, was where a judge sat, his stoic expression greeting Cobalt as he was shoved to the center podium. He was shaking so badly he was afraid everyone seated around him could hear. "You...are a special case..." the judge began.

Cobalt gulped, not finding the strength to speak.

 **"You are a product of robots, and one of your parents is from the same court as I. The other is from Earth. Do I even need to hear your side of the story?"**

Cobalt didn't know what he could say, so he still didn't speak.

 **"Do you have anything to say before we deliver your punishment?"**

Cobalt couldn't wrap his mouth around the correct words in the planet's language, **"U-um...I-I-I..."**

 **"I didn't think so."** the judge turned to a doorway on the side, **"Your greatness?"**

Out emerged a rather plump rather muscular man garbed all in white. He carried a book in one hand, and he had a thin black beard. His narrow eyes swept over the crowd, instilling an immediate _hush_ effect. Even though his name wasn't spoken, Cobalt knew exactly who it was.

The prophet, Evannual.

 **"So, here we are."** he began in a deep voice, **"The abomination."**

V-GR wasn't kidding. They all hated him so much, they kept whispering and laughing or shouting. Cobalt couldn't fathom why they were all conditioned to believe this...

Maybe because...it was true...?

Evannual took the judge's place on the stand, placing the holy book down on the podium, **"A special punishment is in order for sure. Your very existence is an insult to our church. You must be tortured before prosecution."**

Cobalt finally found the words, **"I didn't choose to be born!"**

He shut his mouth after that, as the audience gasped in horror.

 **"You are unfamiliar with our doctrine?"** Evannual frowned in dismay, **"According to our scripture, all children choose when to be born, and whom they are born to. It is a cornerstone of our faith. Therefore, you chose to be born this way, and thus, you are an abomination, and it is your fault."** he rose one eyebrow as he talked, **"Why do you think conception doesn't always occur after intercourse? Because no children want to be born at that point."**

Well, Cobalt knew the real reason, but he was too afraid to speak up again.

 **"Exactly. Now..."** Evannual tapped one finger against his book, **"I want the floor opened up."**

The center podium slid backward, so that a hole could form in the ground below. It was so deep that even though it was close to noon, the bottom of the hole wasn't visible. It was just pitch-black darkness. Cobalt shivered in fear.

 **"Guards."** Evannual continued, **"You know what to do."**

Cobalt's hands were tied behind his back, then rope was wrapped tightly around the rest of his body. Soon, he was unable to move at all. The rope was then secured to another rope, then Cobalt's hovering mechanism was knocked out, and he was attached to a machine that held him upside-down over the center of the hole. He shook with bone-chilling horror.

Evannual went to the control mechanism of the machine, beginning to lower Cobalt into the endless abyss. More and more of Cobalt's vision was swallowed in darkness as he cried, realizing that his life was over. His whole family was doomed, and it was all his fault. Never again would he see his mom and dad, his sister, his grandparents, his great uncles and aunts.

He was all alone.

* * *

V-GR came to again, realizing that Cassandra was shaking his shoulder. His memories of the previous day flooded back to him, and he forced himself to wake up, wincing at the pain in his limbs, "Cobalt..."

"We havta find him!" Cassandra helped V-GR to stand, "Cobalt isn't here! I think they delivered his punishment already!"

"NO!" V-GR fell over his knees, "NOT COBALT! NOOO!"

"Come on!" Cassandra was crying too, the silver tears glistening against her pale-moon skin, "We gotta save him! Get up!"

They were in a blank concrete room, full of the rest of the family as they came to as well. Every vampire had a massive headache, and the others were drowsy as they awoke. Fletcher held an energy capsule to Mel's mouth, ignoring his own pounding headache, while Keith held a jittery M-O, trying to calm him down. EVE connected jumper cables to her own emergency charger so WALL-E could get some much-needed power. The rest of the EVE's tended to their immediate families, or otherwise family members. Ruby tweaked her weapon, and Rio made sure Aya didn't panic. It was a big family, but sure enough, Cobalt was missing.

"Cobalt...no...no, not Cobalt..." V-GR curled into a ball on the floor.

"V-Gr..." Willow snuggled up to his chest, "Isn't there a way to save him?"

"No...it's been too long..." V-GR mumbled, "He'll be in the pit by now..."

"V-Gr! You don't understand!" Cassandra cried, "I know what's in there! Mama told me! Please get up, or we'll _really_ be too late!"

"What?" V-GR lifted his head, "B-but the pit is..."

"A mystery, yes!" Cassandra huffed, "Get up! Please! We havta get out so we can save him! It's not too late!"

Everyone listened attentively. The massive group was beginning to calm down.

"Are you serious?" V-GR asked.

"Yes!" Cassandra was practically shouting, "Please! _Please!_ Get up so we can save him!"

V-GR scrambled onto his feet, not letting go of Willow, "Everyone! Grab a friend and let's go! We haven't got a moment to lose!"

 _"Let's go and save my son!"_

* * *

Chibi-Robo, Giga-Robo, and Telly Vision were in V-GR's spacepod, waiting for the others to return. They had been instructed to stay there until Cobalt was secured, so all they could do was wait.

Giga let out a big warbled sigh, _They've been gone a long time..._

 _I'm sure it's fine._ Chibi beeped nervously, _They're probably just running late..._

"Yes yes, nothing to worry about..." Telly added, humming to himself.

Giga rose one of his eyelids, _It's been almost twenty four hours..._

 _It's fine._ Chibi said.

"It's fine." Telly said.

Giga began to pace around the ship, _Are you sure?_ he replied, _Or are you afraid for Leah and Rose?_

No response this time.

 _Are they okay?_ Giga continued, _Or...are you afraid that they aren't?_

 _I get it!_ Chibi huffed, _Look, they've been through situations like this before! They'll be just fine, I know it!_

"Yeah! Who are you to say that they aren't okay!?" Telly added.

Giga shook his head, _I'm not saying they aren't okay. However, I am saying that if they aren't, maybe we should help them out._

Chibi and Telly looked at each other.

 _Let's figure it out, then._ Chibi woke the computer from sleep mode, _Where are they?_


	10. Chapter 10

Quinn let every process on the ship soften to a dull wine. He couldn't give away their position, not after they were so stealthy for so long. They had managed to gather up every robot that had yet to be brainwashed. If they could just stay on their side for long enough, they could find a way to treat the virus.

Almost there. Just stay calm.

 _"We are about to reach the Lido Deck."_ Quinn was more nervous than he'd ever admit, _"Does anyone have any questions about the plan?"_

He took their tense silence as a no, _"Then we should hurry. I'll go after Nos, everyone else find a target. And remember, we aren't here to kill."_

WALL-E tried to work past the lump in his throat. It had been mostly Willow and Quinn who had taken charge, he was happy on the sidelines. Through all the hectic planning and organizing had been taxing to a degree. He chalked it up to anxiety. Only 15 robots could fit in the shuttle at a time, so everyone got out to walk or fly. It's not like the shuttle didn't have a pilot, after all.

Willow was more or less held together. She was a natural leader, but part of her was afraid that they wouldn't make it - that even if they succeeded, people would be killed. She forced those thoughts from her mind. Everyone was nervous, at least she took comfort in that.

 _Don't worry, Mama._ Willow forced herself to concentrate, _We'll save you._

* * *

M-O blinked. What happened? Had he fallen asleep?

Ugh. Everything hurt. He heard nothing but wining and saw nothing but static, but once he finally forced his eyes to focus, there was nothing to focus on. He was in a large drawer, empty apart from himself, and there was no sign of electronics around him. There was just enough room for him too scoot over (not that he had the strength to do so) and the top of the drawer was just an inch above his brush.

As he regained consciousness, he could hear voices outside;

"Do you not see how this is a problem!?" EVE was shouting at Alpha, who remained still and silent, "So many robots weren't even taken over by the virus! They're on _their_ side now! We'll never stay in space if they control _everything!"_

"Hush, Probe One." Alpha was annoyingly calm, "They don't know my true intentions yet. Once all the pieces fall into place, we will control everything; including them."

"Okay, but..." EVE massaged her temple, feeling an impending headache, "How do you expect to pay for the damage later? All the repair-bots are out of commission."

"Patience, Eve. Don't you see?" Alpha turned around to face her, for all the difference it made, "They aren't here to kill. They won't destroy anything."

"Wh-what?" EVE shook her head, "So they won't break anything?"

"No. That isn't their intention." Alpha spun back around, "They simply want us back on Earth."

EVE chuckled, a kind of evil chuckle that sent shivers throughout M-O's entire body, "Well, we can't have that."

Alpha looked up, "Indeed." he pressed a button on the console and several feeds came up, showing the battle that would ensue soon. It would be an easy victory, if timed right, and EVE was the perfect robot for the job.

"Eve." Alpha looked at her very seriously, so his red eye bore into her.

She stood up taller.

"You are to hold them back until the time is right. Once I have them in the right place, nothing can go wrong."

EVE felt her back stiffen, "You seem very sure of yourself."

"Indeed." Alpha backed off a little bit, "That insolent M-O should be waking up any moment now. I'll take care of him."

"Of course." EVE saluted, "I'll see you later, Alpha." she then boarded the elevator and let it take her down.

 _No!_ M-O wanted to scream, _EVE! Not EVE! That's it! I'm done for!_

He felt himself jerk to the side, and suddenly, the ceiling was much higher up.

Alpha had opened the drawer.

That red eye...

"What can I do with you?"

M-O braced himself for the impact, knowing full well that he might start rapidly forgetting or question his own thoughts or even scream in pain like EVE did back when she was still EVE.

Back when she lost her mind.

And he was next.

He held still, waiting for the effect to come over him. He was weak anyway, but now he was so tired he couldn't even stand if he wanted to. He was ready for some kind of horrible punishment or knives or tasers or pain or agony or...!

He had a lot of anticipations.

Instead...he found himself feeling almost...

Light.

* * *

"Quinn." Fletcher tried to steady his nerves, "How did you get here in that shuttle?"

 _"I made a copy of myself for Miss Willow to take with her."_ he replied, _"I am still alive back home, too. So do not stress about my life, I will be fine."_

Fletcher nodded, "Okay. I guess I feel a little better now. Nice to know that no matter what, you'll be waiting at home for us."

 _"Indeed."_ Quinn stopped, "This is it. Prepare yourselves."

Everyone stilled as Quinn emerged on the Lido Deck.

 _"Oh my God."_ Willow couldn't help but mutter.

One concern they'd had was the lack of humans. Well, now it made sense why none of the humans were around the ship. They were all on the Lido Deck. Some of them were built from years of hard work, and some of them were round and chubby from the Axiom. All of them were tied to the hoverchairs so tightly that even the labor workers from the hard-working starliners couldn't wiggle free.

It was like being in the pound.

Willow was the first to speak, "This is wrong."

 _"Quite."_ Quinn managed to stay totally calm, _"Forcing many humans into such a tight space could be detrimental to their health."_

"This is bad." Fletcher gulped, "Very very bad."

They couldn't fight here.

Quinn felt his fan kick up into overdrive, _"I'm afraid I will have to change our plan!"_

"Really? How much?" Fletcher stuck his head through the doorway.

 _"All flying robots, take to the sky! Everyone else, we must protect the humans! Free them and tell them to free others!"_

"Let's go!" Fletcher spread his wings out and launched himself across the Lido Deck, followed swiftly by every flying bot on their side. The Atlanta's Lido Deck wasn't as large as the Axiom's, but it was still relatively huge, big enough to hold almost 150,000 people if they all stood shoulder to shoulder.

As it stood though, there were at least 200,000 people scrunched up in their hoverchairs all together in this room alone, so it was a problem to say the least.

EVE almost flew right into Fletcher, "Hey!"

"Oh! Aunt Eve!" slipped out of his mouth before he could think about it.

"What!? Why does everyone-!" she pulled her laser cannon, "Nevermind that! Stop now! I don't want to hurt you!"

Fletcher felt his teeth begin to spin like drills, **"Make me."**

WALL-E used the laser between his eyes to cut through ropes quickly, spending only about two seconds on each chair and taking a moment to tell them all to get rid of other ropes before moving on. He didn't really feel like he was there, almost like he was a bystander, detached from the reality of what was happening.

After he'd gone through about 50 people, he looked up at EVE.

"Haha!" Fletcher grinned in an almost manic way, "Even brainwashed, you never change, Aunt Eve!"

"Why won't you give up!?" EVE shot him again, but he easily dodged.

"Because there are lives on the line!" Fletcher struck like a predator, only attacking when he had an opening and staying away when he didn't, "You think I'm gonna give up after that wheel took my entire family away!?"

EVE staggered a little, but didn't stop completely, "Fighting won't get them back!"

"But I am sure as hell gonna try!"

Willow couldn't help but feel giddy. After going through many humans' shackles with her own laser, she had the sense that they were going to win! They were doing it!

Quinn didn't struggle long with Nos. He knew Nos, and Nos didn't remember him, so it was smooth sailing once he'd gotten the robot to hold still long enough. He tied him up and shoved him into a closet of the shuttle. Hopefully it would be enough until they found a cure for this odd sickness. Either way, Quinn was on his way to the main control panel, and as soon as he could dock, he could take control away from Alpha and he could fix everything.

He had to.

"No." Alpha noticed the commotion. This wasn't supposed to happen. They were gaining the upper-hand! If he didn't do something soon, the entire fleet would be compromised!

They would go back home.

He slammed down on the button he'd been hovering over. He would have waited longer, but there was no other option. They had to be stopped now!

After 200 humans were free, a loud siren blared throughout the Lido Deck.

"What?" EVE watched everything shift underneath her, like the ship itself was a scratched CD skipping...again and again...

"What's wrong?" Fletcher tasted blood in his mouth, "Getting tired?"

"No. Something's wrong." EVE almost felt the ship vibrate around her. Nothing felt right anymore, it was all just wrong.

And then all the robots attacked.

All of them.

"Aug!" EVE felt everything spin around in circles, and then she was still, her head on the floor at just the right angle to hurt, the perfect vantage point for thousands of delirious robots to attack everything from all sides.

She was suddenly aware that she was going to die.

"Eve!" WALL-E heard the odd noise that reverberated inside his hollow stomach. All conscious thought and logic was gone. He just wanted to get _out!_

 _Pain pain kill kill_ Willow's head was not on straight, and she was afraid that if she let it slip for even a moment then she would take that aggression out on others. She didn't want to hurt anyone.

Quinn completely shut down, all motors and systems too overwhelmed to even move. It was all he could do to not accidentally slam into a group of humans on his way down, the long fall feeling like added torture to the vibrating screech.

Fletcher was long gone, his head hitting the ground hard enough to shatter bullet-proof glass. He clawed at his own eyes, trying to block out the noise, doing anything he could to _make it stop! Just make it all stop! It's too much! Someone help!_ The words never left his frozen tongue.

Nothing was right. Everything was wrong. And all anyone could do was _panic._

Panic was in no short supply.

Finally, the odd screeching stopped, and all anyone could hear was the echoed whispers of the pent-up aggravation, loud enough that it kept bouncing off the walls of the ship and the insides of everyone's broken metal skulls.

Over and over and over again...


	11. Chapter 11

Evannual surveyed the damage through his holographic television; they had killed their cobra king, the very thing they had used for thousands of years as punishment for breaking the doctrine.

 **"The lizard..."** Evannual furrowed his brow, **"How is this possible?"**

 **"What is it, Sir?"** the commander asked.

Evannual began to thumb through his holy book, **"This is just as the prophecy foretells! This is the coming of the messiah!"**

The commander's eyes widened, **"The messiah...?"**

 **"Get out there and prepare for this!"** Evannual exclaimed, **"This is just as is outlined in the prophecy! We must be ready!"**

The wall exploded, and there stood V-GR, both his laser pistols pointing at the prophet. He panted upon entering, his servo pumping too fast. The commander ran away.

 **"Evannual..."** V-GR frowned, **"It's been awhile, hasn't it?"**

 **"Yes, it has."** Evannual replied, without missing a beat, **"It was such a shame that you committed not one, but three abominations, all before your sixteenth birthday. Then again, I always knew you were a very stubborn woman."**

V-GR grimaced upon being misgendered, **"I'm not a woman. I love my girlfriend and I love my son!"**

 **"You are a fool."** Evannual replied calmly, **"Why would our creator allow such people to exist? To put one gender in the opposite gender's body? And besides, robots were created by us, therefore, they do not have the right to procreate. Only god's creations have the right to their children. I think you know this too, don't you?"** he narrowed his eyes in a condescending way, **"You know you are guilty..."**

V-GR shot him, having heard enough, but the blast was absorbed on impact.

"Huh?"

 **"Foolish V-Gr."** Evannual's eyes began to glow, **"I have the power of god with me, you cannot defeat me!"**

Evannual was surrounded with metal that came from all sides, connecting together into a giant metal shell. Each piece fused with another until the resulting robot roared, **_"YOU DO NOT STAND A CHANCE!"_**

 **"We'll see about that."** V-GR shouted, "ATTACK!"

The entire family jumped out all at once. All the vampires fought with wild ferocity while all the EVEs attacked together. Everyone that made up this family gave it their all, and there were far more of them than the one enemy, but Evannual's robot was far more powerful than anticipated. They weren't going to win if this kept up.

"V-Gr, we have to retreat!" Willow exclaimed, "We can't stop him like this!"

He looked down, "You're right." he began to shout, "RETREAT! EVERYONE OUT!"

He caught one last glimpse of the metallic monster before making sure his family escaped unscathed.

* * *

Chibi sat on V-GR's computer console while the others found their own ways to pass the time. Something was bothering Chibi about that giant robot Evannual was using to attack them, but he couldn't figure out what it was.

"You look like something is bothering you." Telly asked, "Are you okay?"

Chibi let his head tilt sideways, _Yeah...something_ is _bothering me..._

Giga leaned against the wall beside the computer, _What's the matter?_

Chibi rubbed his hands together, _Guys...did you notice anything...odd about that robot?_

Giga blinked, _Odd? What do you mean?_

 _Like...I mean..._ Chibi spotted a memory reader in V-GR's computer, so he pulled it out and stuck it to his head, flipping through each memory, _Let me show you._

 _Oh wow._ Giga squinted, _Your cameras are out of date._

 _Wha-shut up!_ Chibi retorted, _The cameras you have aren't small enough for me yet! Okay there! Do you see it?_

Giga stared at the picture for awhile before his eyes suddenly widened in realization, _Oh wow..._

"What is it?" Telly flitted about, "What do you see?"

 _Telly, look at the robot._ Chibi instructed, _Do you see anything weird?_

Telly did as he was told. The robot in question had a model type similar to old industrial steam engine, but it also had a kind of modern flair to it.

"It looks...familiar..." Telly remarked.

 _Yes, very familiar._ Giga replied, _But where have we seen it before?_

 _May 21st: Our building in LA was set aflame. Sanderson and his wife were killed in the attack. Their daughter was orphaned, too. They supposedly had a Chibi-Robo and Giga-Robo for themselves. The daughter contacted us the other day, she isn't even 17 yet._

 _June 1st:_ _ **Don't hurt me. I know nothing.**_

"OH!" Telly realized, _"It looks just like the company that bombed Citrusoft!"_

The whole spacepod quieted.

"What's going on here?" EVE hovered to where they were.

 _They're the same..._ Chibi whimpered, _They're the same company that killed Mom and Dad...the same that orphaned Jenny...the same that put me to sleep for 800 years..._

Chibi fell onto his side, his head hitting the console.

"Chibi-Robo..." Telly said, "How is this possible?"

"Oh wow." EVE responded, "That model type is so old!"

"It's because of their doctrine." V-GR came to stand with them too, "They don't want to create a robot that's too complex because they say it, 'draws attention away from almighty creator'."

Chibi's eyelids flattened, _That's weird. Why?_

"I don't know." V-GR shrugged, "I didn't write it."

"Wait a minute, Citrusoft?" EVE asked, "You mean the company that made you?"

"Yeah." Telly said sadly, "That prophet and his toys are far more than rotten..."

 _"These guys are terrorists..."_


	12. Chapter 12

V-GR lay on his bed, the door locked, while sending nanobots into his body to try and patch up the fever. It made him feel better, but it hurt so much! How could Fletcher have this in his body for his entire childhood? At least his fever was going down.

"V-Gr?" Willow knocked on the door, "Can I come in?"

He wanted to refuse, but he'd been alone too long. He needed some kind of interaction with people to stay sane, or he'd get stuck in his own head. He reached beside his head to tap a button and the door slid open. It closed again once Willow was in the room.

"Hey, V-Gr..." Willow climbed up onto the bed, "How are you?"

He frowned, "Sick." he shifted slightly among the sheets, "Sick and cold and tired."

"I'm sorry, Baby..." Willow snuggled up under his arm, "I wish there was something I could do..."

"I feel better just knowing you're there, Wil." V-GR replied.

"Hmmm..." Willow rested both hands around his waist, "What are you thinking about?"

"Being sick." he said, salt in his voice, "And how we could ever go back home and forget about all of this."

"We've made good progress on Operation: Rescue, at least." she pointed out.

"We may be done by the time this war is over." V-GR frowned, "Because there will be no one left to rescue."

Willow huffed in annoyance, "Why is it that you can be positive about literally everything that doesn't have to do with this planet?"

"Wil, I think you're underestimating how many friends I lost over the years just because I stopped being a girl." he said, "I'm sick of being misgendered, and of seeing my family hurt, and of seeing everything else that this stupid planet has to offer."

"V-Gr." Willow rested her head on V-GR's upper arm, "What do you always say when the going gets tough?"

He sighed, long and deep, "Be positive."

"This is no exception." she insisted, "We can do it. We can always do it."

He was going to say something else, but Willow had already fallen asleep before he could come up with a reasonable retort. He smiled instead. She was such a cute little box when she was asleep.

He decided not to dwell on the problem at hand, drifting off with her instead. He would feel better when he woke up.

* * *

EVE filed calculation after calculation through her program, trying to logic all of this out. This was the company that wanted the infinite power that the Giga-Robos and the Chibi-Robos all had from Giga-Robo's wish from the aliens. Gregor had kidnapped the aliens before, but he had broken away from the union by then. If the prophet had gotten ahold of that technology, then what would've happened? What would they have done with that kind of power?

"Giga-Robo." EVE said.

 _Yes?_

"Do you know what the tech is that the aliens used to give you infinite power?"

Giga frowned, _Is this what all your questions will be like?_

"Just answer, please."

 _I have no idea._ Giga shrugged, _It could be voodoo magic for all I know!_

EVE gave one nod, "Do you know what that ball of light was capable of?"

 _No, I don't._ Giga shook his head, _As far as I can tell, it's capable of everything. I never truly understood those little guys._

EVE took a moment to think about that as well, "Do you know why the aliens are still alive?"

 _No. Seriously! You're smarter than me, Eve! Can't you figure this all out on your own?_

"Just thought I'd ask. Now..." EVE gasped, "I know what to do!"

 _You do?_

EVE nodded, "Hey guys!" she hollered, "Does anyone know what this code is?"

"Code?" Cassandra was the first to speak up.

"Yes. I have a code memorized that I've never had to use before."

Cassandra brought out her key, clicking one side of it open, "Look."

There was a dialpad on the inside.

"What's the code?" she asked.

"The code is two nine four seven." EVE replied.

"Oh..." Cassandra looked inside the key, then put it away, "I won't do that yet. I have a bad feeling about it."

"I guess it's time then." EVE knocked on V-GR's bedroom door, "V-Gr? It's time to go!"

He called drowsily from inside, _"Do you have a plan?"_

EVE smiled, "Yes!"

* * *

V-GR rubbed his eyes, watching as Cassandra flipped her key around in her hands. He hadn't felt this nervous in so long. His whole family was at stake this time, including the new ones, and Mel wasn't even two yet.

Cobalt rested one hand on his father's knee, "It's okay. We've got each other."

V-GR smiled, though his eyes were still red, "Thanks. I'm so glad I have all of you."

Cobalt smiled with him.

"Are you guys ready?" Willow asked.

V-GR lifted her into his lap, "No. Let's do this."

She giggled, "I don't think we'll ever be ready."

"Let's just get this over with..." Cassandra looked the most nervous out of all of them.

Cobalt playfully ruffled her hair, "Things'll be just fine! Okay? And then we can go home and tease each other again."

Cassandra tried to smile, "Okay..."

"Look! There he is!" Willow shouted.

V-GR narrowed his eyes, "Is that...?"

A giant tower that definitely wasn't there before towered over everything else, twice as tall as the tallest building there (which was saying a lot, because the tallest building was _incredibly_ tall). It seemed to be waiting for something, as V-GR's computer didn't detect any radio waves coming from it.

"Oh! I get it!" V-GR realized, "They're waiting for the messiah!"

"The messiah?" Willow asked, "What's that?"

"They're waiting for their god to appear before them, and congratulate them on a job well done." V-GR explained, "At least, that's what they think. The story doesn't actually specify what the massaia does when he gets here."

"So..." Willow said, "Will this be the end?"

"Well..." V-GR let out a breath of air, "Well, no...with no one on the throne, the whole world will descend into chaos..." he frowned, "We'll have a lot of people to save, for sure, but I suppose this will be our last major battle."

Cassandra tightened her grip on the key.

"Well..." V-GR stood up as his ship docked, "Here goes nothing..."


	13. Chapter 13

They practically had an army as they advanced forward, only the young and weaker robots staying behind on the ship. V-GR saw Fletcher give Asteri a kiss goodbye, since she would have to watch their kids, and Rio fiddled with her cannon, like she was nervous. The ones who came for the battle, well, they tried to act brave.

Cobalt shivered with nervousness as he stuck close to his father. V-GR had wanted him to stay behind, but Cobalt didn't want to simply wait around for the battle to be over. He wanted to help. V-GR couldn't help but smile as he shook his head and cried out, "You're just as stubborn as your parents!"

 **"What are you doing here?"**

V-GR stopped the group in its tracks.

 **"I am waiting for the messiah..."** the white metal of Evannual's giant mech eye-catching even in the dark, **"I will not let you halt our progress."**

V-GR scoffed, **"You call this 'progress'? You've been following the same stupid book for thousands of years! When are you going to let it go!?"**

Evannual didn't answer right away, giving a deep, long sigh, **"You are not open to reason. You will not listen no matter what I tell you."**

 **"Irony police! Arrest this man!"** V-GR called mockingly.

 **"You call me ironic? When will you be open to reason?"**

 **"If you're so sure that this messiah exists, then show me!"** V-GR demanded, **"Only when I see him with my own eyes will I believe you!"**

 **"Very well."** Evannual nodded like he'd already won, **"Let us wait then..."**

V-GR was about to roll his eyes when he heard footsteps to his left.

Cassandra inhaled, **"I am the messiah."**

Several gasps rang out in the air.

"Cassy!?" Cobalt hissed, grabbing her sleeve.

 **"You!?"** Evannual laughed, **"Don't make me laugh! The messiah is clearly a man! And he doesn't have a team of traitors and foreigners with him!"**

Cassandra didn't waver, **"The book doesn't specify if the messiah is a man or a woman, it just says,** ** _'a savior with pale-moon skin'._** **And it also doesn't mention if they have a team or not."**

 **"Don't be ridiculous! And besides, the messiah could never be a child either!"** Evannual got into a battle-stance, **"Just you wait! I'll kill you for disrespecting the messiah! Then we'll know you were an imposter!"**

Cassandra expanded her sword, **"Fair enough, but if I win, you have to give up the throne!"**

"Cass!" Cobalt tugged her back, "What in the world are you doing!?"

"Trust me!" she replied with a small smile, "I have a plan!"

EVE had heard enough, "ATTACK!"

And they were in chaos once again. Fletcher was quite ferocious at his full height, and Ruby's massively-upgraded weapon was obviously extremely dangerous.

"Is this it!?" Rio laughed, "Is that all you can do!?"

"Rio! Please!" Aya exclaimed.

"YOU WILL PAY!" Ruby shouted as she shot. Her blows were quite explosive.

"Ruby! Be careful with that!" Leah added.

V-GR sighed, "This is no good. Evannual has more tricks up his sleeve than I realized."

Cobalt watched everything with wide eyes. Cassandra was nimble and agile, darting this way and that like a bee, slashing with her sword at the perfect moments. But despite everything they had in their favor, they were still losing. It wasn't long before Fletcher was sitting out, sucking batteries dry, and Ruby was running out of energy packs for her upgraded weapon.

Cassandra was thrown aside as Cobalt felt the floor drop from below him, dangling in the air from one of Evannual's arms.

"Dad! Mom!" Cobalt struggled to escape, "CASSANDRA!"

Cassandra tried to stand up, but she'd had the wind knocked out of her.

 **"Stop that! Let him go!"** V-GR jumped up to Cobalt, but was easily batted away.

"Ack!" V-GR stumbled as he landed, sprawling out on the floor.

"Dad!" Cobalt felt the hot tip of a weapon against his temple.

 **"Say goodbye,** ** _Abomination!"_**

 _Bang!_

Everyone gasped as they looked up.

"Cobalt!" Willow cried.

"No!" EVE looked closer, realizing what had happened.

Cobalt...

Cobalt opened his eyes. He wasn't dead? He looked around him, seeing Cassandra quickly type something into her sword as it began to glow, bright enough to blind someone.

 _"RIO! NOOO!"_

"Huh!?"

Cassandra stabbed her sword into Evannual's giant robot shell, the scalding-hot blade melting all of the inner circuitry and breaking down not only his mech suit, but himself as well.

Evannual was going to die.

 **"The messiah..."** Evannual had tears in his eyes, **"My lord...it is you..."**

 **"You shouldn't have doubted me!"** Cassandra shouted, driving the sword tip into him even more, **"However, if you apologize right now, I will let it slide."**

 **"Yes! Yes I'm sorry! I am so very very sorry! My lord!"** Evannual cried as the rest of life slipped away from him, **"I will continue my work in heaven...I p-promise..."**

Cassandra waited until she was sure he was dead before climbing down, her sword still in his gut, "We'll see about that..."

"Rio!" EVE shook her sister gently, "Stay awake!"

Cobalt crawled out of Evannual's fist, realizing what had happened.

Cassandra hadn't been fast enough to save him.

Rio...she...

"Oh no!" Cobalt hurried to them.

"We have to get her home now!" EVE cried, "Is he dead!?"

"Yes." Cassandra said.

"Then let's go now!" EVE got her other sister Probes to help carry Rio off.

"Let's go!" Cobalt hurried to follow his family, but Cassandra didn't follow, "Cass?"

He stopped to look at her. She let her long bangs hide her eyes.

"Cassandra?" Cobalt walked back to her, "Cass? What's wrong?"

She took a deep breath, "Cobalt...I..." she began, "...I haven't been entirely honest with you..."

He blinked, "What?"

"Remember what I said about me rising to the throne?"

"Yeah! You said you couldn't until you were grown!"

"I left something out." she replied, "If there's a prophet on the throne when I kill them, then I can rule the world as the messiah."

"A-are you though...?"

"Well...yeah..." Cassandra took Cobalt's hand in her own, "I'm sorry, but...we'll be away for awhile..."

"What!?" Cobalt cried, "Cassandra! No! That's not fair!"

"I'm sorry..." Cassandra gave Cobalt a big hug, "G-goodbye...Brother..."

Cobalt cried as he hugged her, "No...no! Please don't go!"

Cassandra pulled away, putting both hands on either side of Cobalt's face, "You should go..."

They didn't say anything else, but Cobalt felt his body grow heavy as he tried to float away. Rio was dying after all, they didn't have a lot of time.

Cobalt pressed his face against the window as the spacepod blasted off, Cassandra's sad smile getting smaller and smaller until the curve of the planet came into view.

 _Cassandra..._ Cobalt let his hands slide down the window.

 _Goodbye..._


	14. Chapter 14

Rio's eyes struggled to stay on her screen as the machine beeped beside her. She had jumped in the way of the laser and pointed it away from Cobalt, but accidently got in the way, and a giant burnt hole was blasted through her stasis chamber, sparking with dangerous electricity. She wasn't thinking of herself, something screamed at her to just save Cobalt.

At least she'd succeeded.

"Will she be okay!?" EVE panicked, "She'll be fine, right!? She's not going to die!?"

The roboticist frowned sadly. All the EVE's were here, comforting Rio as she tried to stay awake.

"I'm so sorry..." the robot scientist said softly.

EVE was devastated, "No! _No!"_

"It's okay..." Rio replied, "I-I can die...I don't care..."

"Don't say that!" EVE grabbed her hand, "Please don't die! I beg of you! I can't lose a sister!"

"Who am I going to tease if you're gone!?" Aya cried.

"This isn't fair! We were all supposed to be in this together!" Leah exclaimed in horror.

"P-please..." Rose whimpered, "I could never _ever_ stand to watch you die..."

Rio blinked, "Y-you gu-uys..." she smiled, "I'll be just fine...I was never one for goodbyes, but I'm tough...you guys can handle me being away..."

"NO!" EVE clung to her sister, "I can't do it! I was hoping we could all die together!"

"Don't..." Rio coughed, "I want the rest of you to live long, be happy...you have families of your own, you have partners and children...just...don't let it go to waste..."

EVE felt her heart lock up as she remembered when her friend Benjamin McCrea died nearly a hundred years ago.

"I CAN'T LOSE YOU TOO!" she sobbed, "I WON'T ALLOW IT!"

Rio frowned, "Eve..." she lifted one weak hand to brush her sister's cheek, "Please move on...it will make me happy..."

EVE still didn't let go.

Rio began to see her own memories play in reverse, seeing them like they were really happening, "Autopilot..." she giggled, "I'm coming, my dear Auto...I'm...coming...for you..."

Her screen flickered off and all her body parts fell completely limp, no longer supported by the anti-gravity mechanisms.

EVE shook, "Rio? Rio, please wake up..." she blinked, _"Please...?"_

She slumped over her sister's body, crying until her battery was completely drained.

* * *

Cobalt sat on the bench outside the robotic repair center, his grandmother right beside him. She didn't move, her eye forms wide, lost in her own thoughts.

Willow came to sit beside them, "Mom?"

EVE didn't reply.

"Mom."

"What?" EVE flinched, "Sorry...I was...just..."

She rubbed her screen, refusing to cry again.

"Mom..." Willow took EVE's hand, "I'm so sorry..."

EVE squeezed Willow's hand, trying to smile, "I-It's okay...at least she'll be happy...wherever she is..."

Cobalt leaned back into the building behind them, "She saved my life..."

"Heh..." Willow smiled sadly, "Isn't that what Auto once did for her?"

"Yes...he died saving my sister..." EVE let herself chuckle, "And now she gave her life to save my grandson..." EVE began to laugh harder, "I'm never going to see my sister again! Never! NEVER! AHAHAHAHAHAAA!"

"Mom! Stop that!" Willow slapped her, "You're gonna lose your mind!"

EVE blinked, letting her eye forms curve down, "Never...never..."

"Mom, come here..." Willow spread her arms out until EVE picked her up and held her gently, rocking her back and forth.

Cobalt leaned into them, hoping to offer some kind of comfort. EVE smiled, "Well...her sacrifice wasn't in vain, at least..."

He let himself smile with her.

"GUYS!"

Cobalt's eyes flew open, "Cassandra!?"

There she was, waving her arms around in the air as she ran towards them.

"Cassandra!" Cobalt dashed to her, embracing her in a big bear hug, "I'm so happy to see you!"

"Cobalt!" she giggled as she hugged him back, "Sorry I had to mislead you back there. There were cameras _everywhere_ in that room!"

"What?" Cobalt looked into her eyes, "You mean...?"

"Yeah. It was part of the trick."

"Cassy!" Willow exclaimed, "I can't believe it! You're here!"

"Yup! I'm here!" she replied proudly, "And I'm here to stay!"

Cobalt blinked, "Stay?"

"Yes! You see, we _never_ have to go back!" she explained, "Here's how it happened; I traveled everywhere as the empress, and whenever I found a place that treated people awfully, I would yell at them, _'This is not what I meant! How could you misinterpret my work this badly!?'_ And they would immediately beg for forgiveness! When that was all said and done, I ordered them to build be a ship that would take me back to heaven, and I warned them that if they messed up again, they would never join me and I would destroy the wicked!"

"Um..." Cobalt was confused, "You can do that?"

"Pfff. No. But they don't know that." she laughed, "Anyways, once I was in the sky and out of the atmosphere, I changed the course to Earth, and now I can live here and be happy again!"

"That's amazing!" Cobalt turned to his grandma, "Isn't that amazing, Gramma?"

"Wow..." EVE shook her head, "But how do you know they'll listen to you?"

"Eve, they're believers." Cassandra pointed out, "Not skeptics. And besides, you guys can go and check for me. Yeesh. You're not a good person if you need a god to keep you in check..."

"Hahaha!" Cobalt playfully punched her arm, "Cass, you're a genius!"

"Thank you." she nodded approvingly, "So, how's Rio? Is she okay?"

Everyone lost their smiles. EVE sucked in a breath through her speaker, one hand on her visor.

Cassandra gasped, "Oh no! I'm so sorry!"

Cobalt crossed his arms, "Well...at least we've got you back..."

Cassandra hung her head, "I suppose so...I'm gonna miss Rio though..."

"M-me too..." EVE sniffled, "Oh my god..."

 _"You have no idea how much I already miss her..."_


	15. Chapter 15

EVE looked into the small EVE-sized coffin, where Rio's arms and head had been tucked back into their sockets. The giant hole through her middle looked wrong, but Rio would have wanted to carry her battle scars beyond the grave. To her, it was a symbol of honor.

She wanted desperately to see Rio's green eyes suddenly flicker back on, but the logical side of her knew that was impossible. She was gone, and that was that.

But how it _hurt_ to see her go...

EVE threw a bouquet of bound thistles into the coffin, knowing how fond she was of those. Rio was the kind who couldn't pick a favorite flower, but AUTO's favorite had been thistles, so it was only fair that Rio get some of those. EVE couldn't help but graze her sister's cold cheek with one hand, cradling it like it was made of glass. She hated seeing that dark, blank screen staring back at her.

For some reason, EVE found her voice-chip too hoarse to speak.

"Eve?" Aya held her hand, "May I?"

EVE let her other hand fall back to her side as she straightened up, giving a single curt nod.

Aya turned back to the rest of the group. She wanted to say something profound or meaningful, but instead she choked out, "I...I never wanted to lose a sister..."

She had to stop to recuperate. The small crowd before them was quiet in understanding. Nos caught Aya's eye and tried to smile for her.

She smiled back at her husband and tried to breathe, "Rio...I always liked to tease her...but...I could tell that she liked when I did that...she once told me she thought I was cute when I did, and she only pretended to be annoyed..." she looked at all the long faces in the family and otherwise, "...I...we're going to miss her...so much..."

EVE didn't turn around, choosing to stare at Rio's body before it could be buried. The graveyard was massive by now, filled with both humans and robots. This wasn't the first time she lost someone dear to her, but by their nature, the robots that shared a name and model were closer than if they were different kinds of robots.

She was EVE #1, Rio was EVE #3...

She felt like she had lost a part of herself...

Some other people stepped up to say goodbye to Rio, including WALL-E, who switched back to his old voice so he could say, "Goooodbyyye...Riiiooo..."

"We'll miss you, Aunt Rio..." Willow said.

"It was nice knowing you." V-GR said.

"Thank you for saving my life." Cobalt said, "I won't let it go to waste."

"Take care of yourself." Cassandra said, "I hope you find Auto, wherever you go."

One by one, someone stepped up to say goodbye. Leah, Rose, Chibi, Giga, even Hannah and Ted said a few words. The last one up was Ruby.

"Rio..." she began, "...we were comrades...partners in crime...we destroyed things together. Even though we don't share a creator, we shared a purpose..." Ruby sniffed, but she didn't cry, "I'll have to destroy twice as many evil robots to compensate for you now! It won't be easy, but I'll find a way..."

She finished by placing a few empty bullet shells into the coffin with her adoptive sister, "So that future archeologists will know you were strong..."

All of the EVEs then gathered together to close the coffin's lid and seal it up, then they lifted the big box and set it down gently in the hole they had dug up for her. All of them then used their hands to bury the coffin, sticking the headstone in the ground that WALL-E had carved for them.

EVE smiled at their impeccable placement; Rio was buried right next to AUTO, their headstones only about 6 inches apart from each other.

She could imagine that wherever the two ended up, they would be together.

And they would be happy.

* * *

 **Four Months Later...**

Things had more or less gone back to normal after that. Everyone had settled back into a daily routine, and with an "invisible" ruler back on V-GR's home planet, things there had been better than ever. There were still problems, yes, but no one worried about their lives anymore because of the new laws Cassandra had made before she left for good. Operation: Rescue was complete.

Cobalt listened to his parents talk, absently looking over the lake that was now under the bridge of WALL-E's truck. The sky was so blue, the birds were so cheerful, the grass was so green. It was amazing that it had ever been completely brown.

"V-Gr, why doesn't your planet have a name?" Willow asked.

"A name?" V-GR replied, "Well, because they just call it, 'the center planet'. It's like how the word for China in Chinese translates to, 'center country'. They think they're planet is just the default planet, and so it doesn't need a name. The same goes for their species."

"Oh..." Willow thought of another question, "How did Citrusoft know what the number is that worked with Cassandra's sword?"

"I can only imagine because the people who attacked them knew the code." V-GR answered, "One of them must have known it was important and scratched it into the floor before they died."

"I see...so, how do you think the alien's ball of light works?"

"Willow..."

"Last question!" she said, "I promise!"

"Okay, okay..." V-GR thought about that, "Well, considering that they can travel through time, I can only imagine that their ball of light is equally an unfathomable technology. In other words, I have no freaking idea how it works."

Willow pouted, "Aw man..."

Cobalt wouldn't trade this for the world.

"Hey, Dad?" Cobalt said, "There's something I've been meaning to tell you..."

"Okay, shoot." V-GR replied.

"I don't think you knew this before, but...um..." Cobalt was a little nervous, "I'm actually asexual..."

"Oh, that's it?" he replied, "Fair enough."

Cobalt let out a breath of air, "Well that's a relief..."

"Dude, I'm transgender. Did you really think I'd judge you for being asexual?"

"No, but there was doubt."

"I'm bisexual." Willow replied, "Next."

V-GR and Cobalt laughed.

"Hey, my boys!" Cassandra sat down on Cobalt's other side, "What's up?"

"Kid was just telling me something that didn't truly matter." V-GR replied, "Crazy, right?"

"Dad!"

"Well, while everyone else is apparently coming out..." Cassandra rose one of her hands, "Then I'm pansexual!"

"You are?"

"Yup." she replied, "All or nothing, right?"

"Heheh, I guess..." Cobalt realized something just then, "Wait...Cass, do you like M-O?"

Cassandra's face turned bright pink, "Shut up! I just think he's kinda cute, that's all..."

"Ohhh!" Willow giggled.

"I said stop!" Cassandra huffed, though she was smiling, "Cut that out! He's just a friend!"

"If you say sooo..." Willow buried her head under V-GR's.

Cobalt was so happy. Not only was he free from everything back on the 'center planet', he had the most perfect family on the face of the Earth. Cobalt smiled wide, his eyes turning a deep shade of cobalt blue.

"I love you guys." he said.

Cassandra hugged his shoulders, "Aw! We love you too, Co!"

They didn't know what the future held, but whatever it was, they were ready.

They could do anything.

THE END


End file.
